Death To The Embargo — PR firms are out of control. Today we are taking a radical step towards fighting the chaos. From this point on we will break every embargo we agree to. — Background: — Tech companies are desperate for press and hammering their PR firms for coverage on blogs and major media sites.

Entrepreneurs: We Will Happily Respect Your Embargoes — Michael Arrington at TechCrunch said today that his site will no longer respect press embargoes, the informal system where press outfits agree to hold back publishing until an agreed upon time so that multiple sources can cover a story well.

Piper believes leadership shift at Apple is underway — Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, one of the most outspoken figures on all things Apple, told clients on Wednesday that Steve Jobs' absence from this year's Macworld Expo signals “the beginning of a shift in leadership roles” at the company.

Apple Expo Paris cancelled — Reed Exhibitions will not hold Apple Expo Paris in 2009. The show organizers confirmed its plans for Macworld on Wednesday. — Apple has slowly been moving away from the Paris expo for the last several years. In 2005 Apple cancelled Steve Jobs' keynote in Paris …

Might Apple Be Ditching Macworld For CES? — Many have been the times that I attended the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and wished that I were actually at Macworld, which often coincides or overlaps on the calendar. I stopped attending CES in 2005 after going for what felt …

“Madness” Around Jobs And Apple: Time For Uptick Rule — Short of the long list of shorts out there in Apple Inc. [AAPL Loading... () ] stock, I don't think anyone would argue about what seems to be a year's worth of heavy market manipulation surrounding this company.

The Definitive Coast-to-Coast 3G Data Test — After a grueling eight-city coast-to-coast test of the 3G networks run by AT&T, Sprint and Verizon, we've come up with some clear-cut test results. Think you know who has the best network? Think again. — The Test — 3G is more important now than ever before.

iPhone gaming is maturing as more major games join the fray — With Apple pushing iPhone game development, industry veterans quitting their jobs to focus on game programming, and some developers making record profits with their iPhone apps, it's getting harder and harder to argue that the iPhone isn't a good gaming platform.

Walmart iPhone on sale the 28th for a lot more than $99 — At this point, it's clear that the $99 iPhone 3G rumor was just that: rumor. We have a letter that we believe to be authentic from a source within Walmart that says the iPhone will launch in the house that Sam built at 9am December 28th.

Microsoft Targets Adobe in Web-Design Software — Adobe Systems Inc. is facing increasing pressure from Microsoft Corp., which is using its deep pockets to challenge Adobe's dominance of Web design software. — Adobe's Flash software, which adds video and animation to Web sites, is at the heart of many popular Internet destinations.

Why Track will be back - Fred Wilson says so — For those of you new to the Web since the end of May, you can be forgiven for having no clue about why Track is the s**t. Despite months of denial, an open source clone war, a VC-backed API counter offensive, and unknown secret plans …

GTA maker is hit-and-run victim — Video game software sales are up 30 per cent this year in the US, but the rising tide is not floating all boats - most publishers appear to be holed below the waterline. — Take-Two, publisher of the Grand Theft Auto series, is the latest harbinger of bad news.

Dave McClure Joins Founders Fund — Startup aficionado Dave McClure has formally joined VC firm the Founders Fund as an angel investor, according to an update he made to his LinkedIn profile this week. The Founders Fund was created by former PayPal CEO Peter Thiel in 2005 and is described …

Your Privacy Is Protected Only if You Are Really Sick — The advertising trade group that proposed that people with cancer deserve more privacy protections than those with heart disease has adopted a new version of its guidelines for how ad networks use data about Internet users.

The Recession: My Facebook, My Therapist — In a time of growing unemployment, tumbling stocks, and rising foreclosures, people are finding comfort on social networking sites — When Ian Schlueter found out he'd be among the casualties of a layoff announced Dec. 11 by global shipper DHL …

Toshiba to show 512GB solid-state drive at CES — Toshiba said Wednesday that it will showcase a 512GB solid-state drive at the Consumer Electronics Show next month and begin shipments in the second quarter of 2009. — To date, this would be one of the largest-capacity solid-state drives …

Losing the Paper Trail With Earth Class Mail — The mail-scanning service Earth Class Mail is opening a new outpost in downtown Manhattan on Wednesday to cater to jet-setters, business travelers, expatriates, nomads and anyone else who is on the road too often to manage their snail mail.